Purpose

The Families First Transformation programme is a critical arm to the council’s wider transformation work which underpins and supports financial sustainability through the budget (Full Council Feb 2025). In the case of the Families First programme, the transformation aims to both deliver significant improvements to outcomes for children and young people across the city, whilst reducing the costs of delivering those services by improving the target of spend on those improved outcomes, increasing sufficiency across areas including fostering and children’s homes, and placing a greater focus on early help and prevention.
On 23rd January, the C

Decision

To award the contract under delegation, following the procurement process as outlined, to Newton Consulting Ltd as the winning contractor through the procurement.

Alternative options considered

An options appraisal was conducted in February 2025, the outcome of which was that to maintain continuation from the mobilisation phase of Newton’s work to date through into delivery, that this should be concluded via a contract to be put in place for April 2025.
Appraisal of the options concluded that the only possible emergency-based, but compliant route to market was to direct award from MCF 3 which would allow for effective contract management of this complex contingent-fee based contract.
An options appraisal of the route to market considered 5 options:
1. Open tender under PA23 (Discounted due to time constraints)
2. Direct award via neutral vendor, Constellia (Discounted due to inability to contract manage)
3. Further competition via CCS RM6187, Lot 3 (Complex